E3 2016 Day 1 Recap - Bethesda

Ahh Bethesda. Bethesda Softworks, the infamous developers of absolute monsters in the industry, such as Fallout and Skyrim. I think it's safe to say Bethesda always delivers at E3, showing us something substantial almost every year. Only a year ago Bethesda showed us Fallout 4 at E3 2015, and since then the game has released and reviewed nearly flawlessly, making an incredible mark on the next gen industry for Bethesda. I'm happy to say Bethesda has hit the mark again with another very solid conference, starting with a bit of a surprise.

Bethesda opened their conference with the reveal trailer of a new entry in the legendary Quake franchise, "Quake Champions". We didn't get a lot of information about the title, but it is being called a "class based first person shooter". There has been a lot of these types of games releasing lately it seems, but Quake Champions will absolutely stand alone in its style. Being a Quake title, Quake Champions will be an absolute bloodbath, which is a lot different than other "arena fps" games releasing lately . Quake Champions will feature a roster of a bunch of unique characters playing differently with special abilities, which sounds like a blast. The game will run at 120hz with unlocked frame rates, which is also really impressive. Bethesda stated Quake Champions will be designed for newcomers and quake veterans alike, and we will get even more information on it's release at Quakecon 2016, which takes place in Dallas this August. Check out the trailer below!

Bethesda's Pete Hines showed us a bit of Elder Scrolls Legends. A card game similar to Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone but in the world of Elder Scrolls. There wasn't a lot of game play actually shown, but they revealed a pretty cool cinematic trailer. Boasting a very unique deck building system similar to an RPG, Elder Scrolls Legends players will have a unique experience in a different type of strategy card game. Bossman is definitely interested in this game. Elder Scrolls Legends will be available on PC, IOS, Android and more, which is great for a card game.

Next up in the showcase was a bit of a touch on Fallout 4. After a small heartfelt expression of gratitude for the passionate Fallout 4 community, Bethesda showed us some upcoming incredibly unique DLC packs for our beloved wasteland RPG. First up is "Contraptions", a DLC pack aimed toward further customization of settlements and bases. Contraptions is adding all sorts of new...well...contraptions! Elevators, conveyor belts, sorting machines, weapon and armor racks and even track kits. Contraptions seems really neat but is definitely not for me, but I can already imagine the insanity the Fallout community will create. Contraptions will be releasing next week! The next DLC pack is called Vault-Tec Workshop. Similar to Contraptions, this add-on pack will allow the player to create even more, by building their very own Vault. Not only is this idea neat in lore, but I can see myself spending HOURS creating my perfect vault. Add-on 5 will release in July! The final DLC pack teased at E3 is called "Nuka-World" and looks like it will allow the player to visit a theme park in the Commonwealth, which just sounds incredible.This isn't the only news from Bethesda regarding open world RPG games. I was absolutely ecstatic to see a confirmed Skyrim Remaster for current generation. Now, Skyrim still holds up graphically and in availability, so it's not like we NEEDED a Skyrim Remaster...but also I'm really really okay with a Skyrim Remaster. From what Bethesda showed us, the remaster is going to look incredible. The remaster is launching in October with full mod support on consoles as well, which really cracks the experience wide open.

After the Skyrim announcement, Bethesda took the conference in a very different place by showing the reveal trailer for "Prey", an upcoming sci-fi horror game. Yes, Prey is an already existing game, and yes this is a reboot. However, this current generation take on Prey is looking absolutely terrifying and was a bit of a surprise for me. We we're given too much information outside of the trailer, so take a look for yourself! Warning: it's spoopy.

Doom was next, including some new maps and add-ons coming in the future. A few of these are also improving on ID's Snapmap feature, which should add hours of content to the gorey FPS. Snapmap is something I wish would take off a bit at LAN Mob but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Bethesda also announced some information regarding Elder Scrolls Online and it's Dark Brotherhood expansion coming to consoles. However, the big ESO news was regarding a new update coming this fall that will remove the leveling system from ESO, allowing all players to qualify for all adventures in Tamriel. This is pretty interesting news, and I'm not particularly sure how I feel about it, but I also don't play ESO. It seems that removing the leveling system will have obvious repercussions but allowing the community to work tighter together is very cool. We'll have to see how it goes this fall!Bethesda closed their conference with a personal high note for me, by showcasing some gameplay and insight into the sequel of one of my favorite games of all time...Dishonored! Dishonored 2 will release on November 11th and is looking way better then I could have ever imagined. First of all, if you haven't played the original game, go do it right now. Just stop reading this. Go! To anyone that has played the original, good job. Dishonored 2 is taking a lot of what made the first game so incredible and making those aspects even better. The beauty of Dishonored is every single player will play the steam punk stealth title in completely different ways, utilizing technology, swordplay and magic in unique ways and the sequel is focusing even more on that.With 2 playable characters in Corvo, the experienced protector of the empress Emily, and the Empress herself, Dishonored 2 will have even more variation between playthroughs. Corvo will have a lot of the same magic abilities as he did in the first game, but almost all of Emily's magic is brand new and insanely unique. Equipped with a spell I personally saw as incredibly strong, "Domino", Emily can chain multiple enemies together, forcing them to share the same fate. Killing one of these enemies will cause the domino effect, dropping all of them. Just that ability alone opens up so many doors for a title like this and November 11th just can't come any sooner. Bethesda is offering a pretty good deal, where if one preorders Dishonored 2, they receive a free copy of the Dishonored 1 Definitive Edition. To anyone looking to try Dishonored 1 out stop by LAN Mob, we'll have a few copies soon. I could go on about Dishonored for hours, so just watch this and be amazed.

That basically wraps up Bethesda's conference, minus one thing. Bethesda VR! Bethesda showed us Fallout 4 and Doom will be coming to VR and that's pretty huge. VR is still not particularly available to the public due to price and limitations, and in this unique case, LAN Mob gets to shine again. VR is complicated but we have been showcasing the HTC Vive right here in Rome, NY and people love it. With titles like Doom and Fallout 4 hitting VR it shows that triple A titles are more than capable of running on VR, they can flourish. I can't wait to see what other titles will see their way into the virtual world. Stay tuned for more E3 2016 news!